Local startup Xeropan raises EUR 800,000 from Hiventures

Local language learning startup Xeropan has raised almost EUR 800,000 from state-owned venture capital investment fund Hiventures, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

Attila Al-Gharawi (front) with Xeropanʼs team

The startupʼs main profile is helping users learn practical language skills with the assistance of real-life video content, says the press release, explaining that language learners are helped 24/7 by a personal digital language teacher.

Xeropan offers a gamified, entertaining environment where users earn achievements and ranks by completing a variety of tasks. The startup also offers a mini-app as a part of the application, keeping track of the userʼs active and passive vocabulary.

"Instead of using textbook-like outdated learning content, Xeropan offers real-life video lessons from film trailers, TV shows to newscasts so that learners acquire the everyday use of the target language," says Attila Al-Gharawi, the co-founder and CEO of the company. "We immerse learners in the actual use of the language; they become used to native-like thinking, they understand the native rate of speech, and we enhance their cognitive creative thinking and speaking," he adds.

At the moment, Xeropan has learners from 185 countries, and aims at increasing its international presence with the help of the investment. The company has already doubled the number of languages through which users can master English, with the company now working on a feature allowing learners to practice their conversational and speaking skills along with the desktop html version of Xeropan.

The startup has set the ambitious goal of reaching revenue of over EUR 1 million by the end of 2020. The two founders have organized a team of content developers, software engineers, UI/UX specialists and marketing experts, with 20 people working on the development of the software. The company also has third-party experts assisting its team.

Thousands of people use Xeropan on a daily basis with higher retention rates than the industry standard, according to the press release.

"Retention plays a significant role in our industry," notes Al-Gharawi, "because even with magical abracadabra, we canʼt learn to speak a language confidently over a couple of days; we need to dedicate 5-15 minutes a day of fun learning with Xeropan for a couple of weeks to get the hang of a language and start speaking confidently."

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